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Growing up near Victoria Park and Sheppard Aves in Scarborough could not prepare anyone for this.

Not when it comes to the zoo that is Super Bowl media day.

Orlando Franklin learned that first-hand on Tuesday.

This went far deeper than just all the Rob Ford questions. Franklin, the starting right tackle of the Broncos, was expecting those and handled them with veteran savvy, saying he was thankful for anyone who supported his Denver team.

But even the 6-foot-7, 330-lb alumnus of the Scarborough Thunder could not have expected some of the wild wacky and weird queries that seemed to come at him from left field.

Not to mention some of the eccentric people who were asking them.

Here are a few examples:

n On the impact of Mayor Ford’s decision to wear his No. 74 Broncos jersey in public on Monday.

Franklin: “I got a couple of hundred new followers on Twitter.”

- What is your favourite cereal?

Franklin: “Froot Loops. I love Froot Loops.”

- Do you prefer tanning, laundry or going to the gym?

Franklin: “Going to the gym.”

- Do you believe the NFL should allow medicinal marijuana use, an issue that has been kicked around?

Franklin: “We’ve got rules in the NFL. We’re not allowed to smoke weed. In life, you have to follow rules. I don’t smoke weed myself, but for those who want to, they have to deal with it.”

- If you were not playing football, which Olympic sport would you be in?

Franklin: “If I was 100 lbs. lighter, I would be a figure skater. I think it is tremendous what those people do on skates. They do a great job.”

- Being from Toronto, did you play hockey?

Franklin: “Yes.“

What position?

Franklin: “Defence. I was a bit of an enforcer.” (Grinning wryly).

- What led you to your troubles with the law as a teenager?

Franklin: “At one point in my life, I thought it would be cool to be arrested because my friends had been arrested.”

- How has your media day experience gone?

Franklin: “It’s been fine ... but I’ve been getting killed with the whole Rob Ford thing.”

Franklin: “My rookie year, I was at a baseball game. I’d never been to a baseball game before. (Eric) Decker came up behind me and gave me the pie-in-the-face treatment. I heard that’s a thing they like to do in baseball.”

The Theatre of the Bizarre didn’t end with those questions either.

Over the course of his one-hour session at the podium, Franklin was interviewed by:

a) A guy who was dressed up like either George Washington or Mozart — we’re not sure which.

b) Some clown who was decked out in a shoddy poor man’s yellow-and-black Superman-like costume that looked as if he made it in his basement in 15 minutes.

c) An man who, upon hearing Franklin was from Toronto, joked: “Oh. Canadian? No reason to talk to you then.” At least we think he was joking.

Franklin’s tone took a far more serious course when asked about his younger brother John Raymond, who was apparently murdered in Jamaica during Orlando’s rookie season with the Broncos. “My brother was killed because he was doing the wrong thing and I was advised not to go down there for the funeral for that reason,” Franklin said, refusing to elaborate. “The Broncos were great in their support.” Orlando ended up playing later that week. “Had I not played, I’m not sure I would have got through it. It was great therapy” ... Franklin admitted he bought his Toronto home from Scarborough native Chris Stewart, the St. Louis Blues forward who once played in Denver for the Avalanche ... Having been on hand to watch the Leafs defeat the Avs in the Mile High City last week, Franklin was asked how he developed his friendship with Toronto centre Tyler Bozak. “He lived right near me in Denver,” Franklin said ... What does being in the Super Bowl mean to him? “It’s one of the greatest moments in my life, if not THE greatest,” he replied. Enough said.

Bronco Busters

Should the Broncos defeat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII, Denver safety Mike Adams vows to leave MetLife Stadium wearing his shoulder pads and helmet, and walk to his nearby hometown of Paterson, N.J. The town, in fact, held a pep rally for him at School 6 on Tuesday night, the place he attended as a kid. Three busloads of children reportedly were to be brought in for the festivities ... Veteran wideout Wes Welker showed no fear when asked about the possibility of being matched up against all-world Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman. “Yeah, anytime, man,” Welker said. “I want anybody one-on-one in the slot. Anytime.” Did he have any advice for the outspoken Sherman, who seemed to be savouring all the interviews he was doing? “Quit doing one-on-ones, man,” Welker joked. “Every time I look up he’s doing one-on-ones. Stick to the field, man, stick to the field.”

Scene And Heard

Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan spent a good chunk of his one-hour interview session answering questions while clutching a large teddy bear in his right arm. “A guy from Nickelodeon gave it to me for my daughter,” Trevathan claimed. A nice touch, but that won’t stop him from being ridiculed. “He’s going to hear about that from me the next few days,” said Franklin, who was seated beside Trevathan at media day ... Thanks to an early morning police escort, media buses were ushered from the media hotel near Time’s Square through the Lincoln Tunnel into New Jersey via a lane dedicated solely to them, a remarkable feat given it was the height of rush hour. All the while, reporters were shown videos that included Shaq welcoming them to Newark. Shaq grew up in Newark. “Ya, but I notice he doesn’t live there any more,” quipped one ink-stained wretch. Media day was held at Newark’s Prudential Center, home of the Devils ... Seattle’s Max Unger is stealing a page from NHLers by sporting a playoff beard. Still, he was eager to get advice on how to properly trim his facial hair from the Steelers’ Brett (Fear the Beard) Keisel, who was doing interviews for Head & Shoulders shampoo. “Dude, you need to give me some pointers,” Unger said ... Among those seen interviewing players: Actor Hank Azaria, who is the voice for a number of characters on The Simpsons.

Two-minute warning

Seahawks tight end Luke Willson, a native of LaSalle, Ont., was pumped just to be in an NHL rink for media day. Willson is a Leafs fan. “I thought it was kind of cool to be here,” he said. “I was a left winger, grinding forward-type of g uy. I have two brothers and we would play on the street in front of the house, go to spring camps, played all the time. I played a lot of hockey.” Could any of his teammates lace up the blades? “No, definitely not. No way.”